Winter Weather arrangements
In good time for the winter weather, residents are reminded of the arrangements that will be in place to tackle any winter weather in Bourton this year.
As usual, GCC will arrange for the primary roads in the village to be gritted and cleared of snow, as and when necessary. A stock of grit and grit spreading equipment is held by the Parish Council to be made available to residents and businesses for clearing public pavements and footpaths as required. The equipment will be loaned out to residents as and when necessary; however, these supplies will obviously only be available during office hours so residents are asked to contact the Council in advance if they do wish to do so, to ensure the equipment can be collected when staff will be on hand. This grit is not to be used on private land, and residents should make their own provision in this respect ahead of winter, as general suppliers often run out of stocks during prolonged spells of bad weather.
Contrary to many people’s understanding there are no laws which prevent you from clearing snow and ice on the pavement outside your homes or from public areas. However, it’s obvious that this should be done responsibly and with due care for yourself and for others. Guidance is available on the Council’s web-site (www.bourtononthewaterpc.org.uk) in respect of good practice precautions to be taken when doing this.
The grit bins around the village will be filled by GCC ahead of the winter months but, thereafter, the Parish Council will be responsible for re-stocking them. Our stocks are limited and these must therefore only be used for spreading grit on public footpaths and pavements. Residents are asked to respect this and not take grit from these bins for use on their own land, and to notify the Council if they notice any of the bins are empty so they can be re-stocked.
If bad weather arrives, we’d also ask residents to help any vulnerable neighbours and do what they can to ensure they have help with path clearing, or delivering shopping etc, wherever possible. There is a wider and general community benefit which will result from residents getting together to tackle the clearing of snow and ice for their own immediate area, in addition to looking out for and helping vulnerable neighbours
With thanks for your cooperation.
Sue Cretney, Clerk